Gas mask



Nov. 13 1923. 1,474,25

R. P. MASE GAS MASK Filed Oct. 11, 1921 SSheets-Sheet 1 R m a W W a w vu 6 3 1 741/ 6 3 a M x Q 4/ 1. g i a w 2. 4 rm F I I5 1 Mm Eases GASMASK R. P. MASE Filed Oct. 11.

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Mum/6556 R. P. MA'sE GAS MASK File d Oct. 11, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 QPCP.

iwmvmK I I To all whom it may concern:

. the mask;

Patent Nov. .13, 19.

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aoscon r. wise. or wrrxmsmme, PENNSYLVANIA, assieNon 'ro MINE sarri'rrAPPLIANCE company, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, a ooaroaa'rron or(PENNSYLVANIA.

Be it known that I, Roscoe P. MASE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of. Wilkinsbur in the county of Allegheny and State ofennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gas Masks, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention relates to gas masks, and the object thereof is to improvetheir construction and consequent operation. Further andmore specificobjects of the invention are to provide a'gas mask iifwhich an exchangeof heat is eflected between the incoming contaminated air and theoutgoing purified air; a mask in which the purifying materials areprotected against the action of air when the mask is not in use, and amask in which the extent of use of the'puritying material is indicatedso that new or fresh purifying material may be substituted whenrequired. e

The invention is illustrated in the ac companying sheets of .drawings ofwhich Fig. 1 is anoutside view of a gas mask; Fig. 2 a verticalsectional view to enlarged scale throu h the air purifying portion of lig. 3 a plan view of the;portion shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a transversesectional view taken on the broken line IV IV Fig. 2; Fig. 5 a plan viewto enlarged scale of a use-indicating devicepthe lane of view beingindicated by the line V Fig. 1; Fig. 6 a" sectiona view taken on theline VI-VI Fig. 5; Fi 7 a sectional view taken on the line VII II Figf6;Fig. 8 a--view corresponding to Fig. 6 illustratingwa modi-. ficationofconstruction; and Fig. 9 a sec tional view 8. J ne feature of theinvention has to do with the provision of a gas mask in which there isan exchange of heat between the incoming and outgoing air to the endthat the air-purifying material or'materials n'iaybe maintained at asubstantially elevated temperature at' which they function more tion ofthe mask comprises efi'ectively, and also that fied air to be breathedmay have its temperature reduced after having passed through and becomeheated by the purifying material.

To such end the air-purifying poran outer casing having an air inlet andan air outlet, and

Application filed October 11, 1921.

VVithin the casing there taken on the line lX IX 'causing air to takethe outgoing puri eaas masx.

an air-purifying canisterwithin the casing provided also with an airinlet and an air outlet communicating, respectively, with the casinginlet and outlet: outlets of the canister and casing there is arranged aheat-exchanging apparatus whereby the outgoing. air is caused to flowadjacent to the interior surface of an extended wall forming a conduitconnecting-member between the two outlets, and whereby the incoming airis caused to flow adjacent to the exterior faces of such'wall.

In the illustrative Between "the embodiment of this feature of theinvention, shown particularly in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the' outer casing isshown as havinga side .wall and a bottom 3. The are preferably bothlocated in the top 2 there being indicated central portion of the t pand two air inlets 5 arranged one on eacld side of. the 5 outlet.

1, a removable" top 2 adapted to be charged with various materials forpurifying air, the particular material used'dpending upon the specificuse to which it-is desired to put the mask. The canister is providedpreferably at its bottom withan air inlet 7 and at its top with an .airoutlet 8, the body material being arranged between the inlet and outletin such manner that the air passes through it.

The heat exchanger includes alternately air inlet and outletanalr outlet45 at e l W5 is a canister- 6 of air-purifying arranged narrow and widchambers, the

walls of which form a conduit between the canister and casing outlets.'A narrow portion 9 adjacent to'the canister outlet joins a widenedportion 10 above which there is a .narrow portion 11. As many wide andnarrow portions may be provided as are de'- sirable, the heat exchangershown herein including a second wide portion 12 and an adjoining narrowportion 13 adjacent to the outlet 4. 12 there are arranged bafiie plates14 for a circuitous path between Within the wide portions 10 and V thecanister and easing outlets so that the air may flow adjacent to theinner surface of the extendedheat-exchanger walls. To cause theincoining air to flow adjacent to he exterior faces of the extendedwalls, the heat-exchanger is provided with baflies 15 and 16 which formwith the exterior of the heatexchanger and the interior of the eascasining a circuitous passageway adjacent to the walls of the heat-exchanger.The line of flow ofthe purified air from the canister outlet 8 to thecasing outletDgt is indicated by the arrows inside the heat-exchangingportions 9, 10, '11, 12 and 13, and likewise, the path of theincomingfair is indicated by arrows on the outside of said portions and.between them and the ballies 15 and 16. After the incoming air passesthrough the heatexchanger it flows downwardly through'the 1 between itsinner surface and. the exterior of the canister to the canister inlet 7,the canister being spaced front the casing 'wall to afford suchpassage-way for the air.

The heat-exchanging apparatus is preferably connected to the casing topor cover 2 by means of rods 17. Th prevent incom' ing air from flowingbetween the side wall 1 of the casing and the outer edges of the bafiles15 and 16, these baflles,are preferably constructed of pliable pads offelt, fabric or the like, the outer edges of which press against aninterior felt lining 18 of the besing. A union'coupling may. be providedfor attaching'fthe canister to the heat-exchanger, the former beingprovided withan exteriorly threaded sleeve 19 adjacent to the outlet 8,and the latterwith a union cou pling nut 20 having radiallyidisposedgripping'members. 21. In assembling the airpurifying portionof the mask,a canister 6 is attached tothe heat-exchanger While the top 2 of thecasing isremoved. Thereafter, the canister,heat-exchanger and top of thecasing are, as a unitary structure, inserted in the casing 1. I Theapparatus may then be connected to a conduit leading to a face piece.

The materials with which canisters are charged for the purposeoftremoving vanous gases from air to be breathed deteriorate bythdpassage of air through them. To prevent-air from flowingintothecanister in any osition while the apparatus is not in use, 0ththe inlet and outlet of the apparatus are provided with delicatelyoperating check valves which. are normally held closed by s rings. Thecheck valve for the inlet may earranged adjacent to-thecanister inlet '7and may comprise. a suitable plate 22 urged by means of a spring 23'against avalve seat-24 surrounding the inlet 7. spring 23 beingbacked bymeans of a gage25. The

check valve for preventing flow of air into the canister through theoutlet of the apparatus may be arranged at the inlet of theheat-exchanger. This check valve-may be slmilar to that at the inlet ofthe canister and may'comprise a plate 26 held against a valve seat 27 bymeans of a light spring 28 actlng between the plate and .a cage 29.,These checkvalves form but slightre'sisb ance to breathing when theapparatus is in use, and prevent air from entering the can i teeth of auser to discern when the air-purifying material is not adequatelypurifyin the air. In such masks the period of usefu ness of a canistermay be reckoned in terms of the amount of air passing throughthe'purifying material, and this ma be approximated by the number ofbreats that a user takes ecome through the material. One feature of thepresent invention has to do with the provi-' v sion of means forvisually indicating the extent of use to which the mask has been fput sothat when it hasbeen used to the sa ety limit, the user may substitute afresh canister for the one that has been in use. .Inthe illustrativeembodiment of this feature of the invention two forms of iridicators areshown, in one of which the number of breaths which a, user takes throu hthe puri fying material is indicated, and'in the other.

of which the indication of the use is more nearl in proportion to thevolume of air breat ed through the material. The first-mentioned form ofindicatin apparatus is illustrated in 5, 6 and and comprises a casing 30rov ded with anair inlet31' and an air out et 32. In a position adaptedto normally close the inlet 31 there .is a light wei ht plate 32attached to a strip 33 which is cut around spindle 3-t. The

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free end of strip 33 is bent into the form of a pawl 35 adapted toengage successively the 'tchet wheel 36 keyed to a spin- (1112.37. 'Th'sspindle is provided with a worm haft 38 which meshes with a worm wheel 9keyed to a spindle 40, one end of which is. provided with an indicatorfinger 41. The upper portion of the casing is provided witha suitablehousing 42 in which there is clamped a transparent plate 43 on which ascale may be cut or through which a scale may be read. Casing 30 isprovided with a union coupling nut 44 adapted to engage a sleeve 45formed on the top 2 of the casing, and it is also provided with athreaded sleeve 46 adapted to be connected to a conduit 47 leading to aface piece 48.

In the use of this type of indicator, each inhalation causes plate 32 torise above the inlet 31withthe result that pawl 35 ad vances ratchetwheel 36. This ratchet is held a ainst reverse movement by means of asuita le delicate spring 49 attached to the casing and engaginq theratchet teeth in the manner'illustrated. The movements of the ratchetwheel are geared down so that the indicator finger 41 is turned veryslowly.

' clearly illustrated in the drawin the scope of the ap .fion may bepracticed by other forms of convanes 52 arranged to cause the sp' Figs.8 and 9, and differs from that just explained in that the indicatinghand is actuated more nearly in proportion to the volume of'air flowingthrough theapparatus. Adjacent to the inlet 50, and parallel to the lineof How of the air through it, there is a rotatable spindle 51 providedwith pro eller Is to rotate when air flows through the inlet. By a,suitable arrangement of reducing gears the rotation of spindle 51 causesan indicator finger53 to advancein a manner similar to that ex lainedwith reference to the apparatus of igs. "5, 6 and 7. The indicators areessentially flow meters, serving to indicate the amount of air caused toflow through the breathin apparatus.

Accor ing to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described theprinciple and operation of my invention together with an illustrativeembodiment thereof. However, I desire to have 1t understood that, withinpended claims, my invenstruction than that specifically vshown anddescribed.

1. An air purifying ap aratus comprising an outer casing provided withan air inlet open to the atmos here and 'an air outlet, an air-purifyingcanister within the casing provided with an communicating respectivelywith said .casing inlet and outlet, and means in the cas ing forbringing the air that enters the easing into heat-exchanging relationwith the purified air that leaves the canister.

2. An air=purifyingapparatus comprisin an outer casing havin itstopprovided wit an air inlet open to te atmosphere and an air mlet andan air outlet! an air inlet open -"to the atmosphere and an air outlet,an air-puri ing' canister arranged withln and space from the interior ofsaid casing and provided with an air in let in its bottom and anairoutlet in its top communicating, respectively, with said casing inletand outlet, and means in the casing for bringing air that enters theeasing into heat-exchanging relation with the purified air that leavesthe canister, the incoming air of the canister to the inlet of thecanister. air-purifying apparatus comprising an outer casing having itstop provided communicating wlth the casing inlet and.

provided with an air outlet, connected tofsaid canister and casinoutlets and provided interiorly wi'th bafiies for causing the purifiedair to flow through a circuitous path from the canister outlet to thecasingputlet, said. heat-exchanger being further provided exteriorlytending to the wall of the casing and form.- ing with the walls'of thecasing and heat- ,exchanger a circuitous path through which the incomingair flows to the canister inlet. 5. In a gas. mask, the combination ofaface piece, an air-purifyin vided v'vithan ai inlet an a heat-exchangerapparatus proan 'air outlet, a

with bafiles exconduit connectmg said outlet with the face giece, andmeans= arranged in the line of ow of air from said inlet to the facepiece of use to which the for indicating the extent has-been put.

' air-purifying. apparatus ace piece,

' air-inlet and an air outlet, a conduit con necting said outlet withthe face piece, and a flow meter having an inlet connected to the outletof said casing and having an outlet connected to the face piece, saidmeter being actuated by the flow of air through -it for indicating theextent, of use to which air outlet, an air-purifying canister in the,the air-purifying apparatus has been put.

lower portion of the casing and provided 3 7. In

with an air inlet communicating with said casing inlet and furtherprovided with an 'air outlet, a bafiied conduit member connectan dhaving extended walls against which purified air flowing from thecanister means within the casing for directing coining air against theouter faces 0 through the casing outlet is directed, and

the inthe extended walls of said conduit member.

3. An air-purifying apparatus comprism an outer casing hav ng a topprovided witfi the canister mitlet with the casing-outlet:

a gas mask, the combination of a face piece, an air-purify n a gas mask,the combination of a an air purifier provided with an ing apparatuscomprising an outer casing provided with an air inlet and an air outletand having an airpurifying canister therein, and 6. flow meter having aninletconnected to the outlet of said casing andanoutlet connectedtofsaid face piece, fiowof air t hrou h it for indicating the extent ofuse to which the air-purifying apparatus has been'put.

In testimony whereof -I si m name vRoscon ii. ASE. W

said meter beinglactu'ated by the

